Formula for change

Last updated

The formula for change (or "the change formula") provides a model to assess the relative strengths affecting the likely success of organisational change programs. The formula was created by David Gleicher while he was working at management consultants Arthur D. Little in the early 1960s, [1] refined by Kathie Dannemiller in the 1980s, [2] and further developed by Steve Cady. [1]

Contents

Gleicher (original) version: C = A × B × D > X

The original formula, as created by Gleicher and published by Richard Beckhard (see § Attribution confusion below), [3] is:

C = A × B × D > X

where:

C
is change;
A
is dissatisfaction with the status quo;
B
is a desired clear state;
D
is practical steps to the desired state;
X
is the cost of the change.

Dannemiller version: C = D × V × F > R

Dannemiller reframed the formula with a focus on overcoming resistance to change:

C = D × V × F > R

This formula poses that three factors must be present for meaningful organizational change to take place. [1] These factors are:

D
Dissatisfaction with how things are now;
V
Vision of what is possible;
F
First concrete steps that can be taken towards the vision. If the product of these three factors is greater than
R
Resistance,

then change is possible. Because D, V, and F are multiplied, if any one is absent (zero) or low, then the product will be zero or low and therefore not capable of overcoming the resistance.

To ensure a successful change it is necessary to use influence and strategic thinking in order to create vision and identify those crucial, early steps towards it. In addition, the organization must recognize and accept the dissatisfaction that exists by listening to the employee voice while sharing industry trends, leadership ideas, best practices and competitor analysis to identify the necessity for change.

Cady version: D × V × F × S > R

D × V × F × S > R

This version adds a fourth factor: S for Supports for follow-through that also must be present for sustainable change to happen. Again the factors necessary to overcome resistance to change are: [1]

D
Dissatisfaction with how things are now; sometimes framed as the Desire for change that requires a shared Database of information;
V
an ennobling Vision of where people are headed together;
F
First concrete steps that can be taken towards the vision;
S
Clear supports for follow through.

When multiplied, these four factors combine to overcome

R
Resistance to change.

Attribution confusion

It is often inaccurately attributed to Richard Beckhard because he published the formula in both versions of his widely read book Organizational Transitions. In the original 1977 version, Beckhard and Harris gave full credit to Gleicher. [4] In the second edition from 1987, they did not even mention Gleicher's name once in the entire book, but did present the equation as a formula for overcoming resistance. [5]

Elaine Dickson attributed the formula to Beckhard in 1971, via a National Training Laboratories Institute for Applied Behavioral Science professional OD training program (in Bethel, Massachusetts), in her 1982 book Say No, Say Yes to Change: Finding Growth Opportunities in Life's Changes (Broadman Press, p. 142).

Popularization

It was Kathleen Dannemiller who dusted off the formula and simplified it, making it more accessible for consultants and managers. [1] Dannemiller and Robert W. Jacobs first published the more common version of the formula in 1992. [6] Paula Griffin stated that Gleicher started it, Beckhard and Harris promoted it, but it really took off when Dannemiller changed the language to make it easier to remember and use. [2]

Empirical research

Researchers have attempted to test the formula's effectiveness empirically. Čudanov et al. developed a quantitative measurement instrument, based on Beckhard and Harris's version of the formula, that can be utilized in change management practice. [7] The instrument aims to support change readiness in all phases of the change management cycle, on the one hand, and to provide insights into change success factors, on the other. [7] Post-implementation assessment can reveal key factors that cause change failure. [7] The measurement instrument of Čudanov et al. is shown in the wikibook Handbook of Management Scales . [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer program</span> Instructions a computer can execute

A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. It is one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components.

In telecommunications, the free-space path loss (FSPL) is the attenuation of radio energy between the feedpoints of two antennas that results from the combination of the receiving antenna's capture area plus the obstacle-free, line-of-sight (LoS) path through free space. The "Standard Definitions of Terms for Antennas", IEEE Std 145-1993, defines free-space loss as "The loss between two isotropic radiators in free space, expressed as a power ratio." It does not include any power loss in the antennas themselves due to imperfections such as resistance. Free-space loss increases with the square of distance between the antennas because the radio waves spread out by the inverse square law and decreases with the square of the wavelength of the radio waves. The FSPL is rarely used standalone, but rather as a part of the Friis transmission formula, which includes the gain of antennas. It is a factor that must be included in the power link budget of a radio communication system, to ensure that sufficient radio power reaches the receiver such that the transmitted signal is received intelligibly.

Software configuration management (SCM), a.k.a. software change and configuration management (SCCM), is the software engineering practice of tracking and controlling changes to a software system; part of the larger cross-disciplinary field of configuration management (CM). SCM includes version control and the establishment of baselines.

In fluid dynamics, the Darcy–Weisbach equation is an empirical equation that relates the head loss, or pressure loss, due to friction along a given length of pipe to the average velocity of the fluid flow for an incompressible fluid. The equation is named after Henry Darcy and Julius Weisbach. Currently, there is no formula more accurate or universally applicable than the Darcy-Weisbach supplemented by the Moody diagram or Colebrook equation.

Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational changes are typically initiated by the group's stakeholders. OD emerged from human relations studies in the 1930s, during which psychologists realized that organizational structures and processes influence worker behavior and motivation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action research</span> Methodology for social science research

Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946 paper "Action Research and Minority Problems" he described action research as "a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that uses "a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action".

Chris Argyris was an American business theorist and professor at Yale School of Management and Harvard Business School. Argyris, like Richard Beckhard, Edgar Schein and Warren Bennis, is known as a co-founder of organization development, and known for seminal work on learning organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Business process re-engineering</span> Business management strategy

Business process re-engineering (BPR) is a business management strategy originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within an organization. BPR aims to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors.

In agile principles, timeboxing allocates a maximum unit of time to an activity, called a timebox, within which a planned activity takes place. It is used by agile principles-based project management approaches and for personal time management.

Richard Beckhard (1918–1999) was an American organizational theorist, adjunct professor at MIT, and pioneer in the field of organization development.

Symbolic behavior is "a person’s capacity to respond to or use a system of significant symbols". The symbolic behavior perspective argues that the reality of an organization is socially constructed through communication. Symbolic messages are used by individuals to understand their environment and create a social reality. When faced with uncertainty, individuals continually organize themselves within their group based reality and respond within that reality.

The bus factor is a measurement of the risk resulting from information and capabilities not being shared among team members, derived from the phrase "in case they get hit by a bus". It is also known as the bus problem, truck factor, or bus/truck number.

Change management (CM) is a discipline that focuses on managing changes within an organization. Change management involves implementing approaches to prepare and support individuals, teams, and leaders in making organizational change. Change management is useful when organizations are considering major changes such as restructure, redirecting or redefining resources, updating or refining business process and systems, or introducing or updating digital technology.

The four-factor formula, also known as Fermi's four factor formula is used in nuclear engineering to determine the multiplication of a nuclear chain reaction in an infinite medium.

In organizational development, corporate diagnostics provides tools for the effective diagnosis of organizational culture, and structural and operational strengths and weaknesses.

Herbert Allen Shepard (1919–1985) was a Canadian-born American organization behaviorist and economist who made a significant contribution to Organization Development He held faculty posts at several universities including M.I.T., where he received his doctorate in Industrial Economics. He founded and directed the first doctoral program in Organization Development at Case Western Reserve; developed a residency in administrative psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, and was also President of The Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and The Professional Development Institute.

Human Systems Intervention (HSI) is the design and implementation of interventions in social settings where adults are confronted with the need to change their perspectives, attitudes, and actions. Depending on the philosophical and theoretical orientation of the intervener, the process can be approached as a planned, systematic, and collaborative activity.

Double-loop learning entails the modification of goals or decision-making rules in the light of experience. The first loop uses the goals or decision-making rules, the second loop enables their modification, hence "double-loop". Double-loop learning recognises that the way a problem is defined and solved can be a source of the problem. This type of learning can be useful in organizational learning since it can drive creativity and innovation, going beyond adapting to change to anticipating or being ahead of change.

Organizational change fatigue or change fatigue is a general sense of apathy or passive resignation towards organizational changes by individuals or teams, said to arise when too much change takes place, or when a significant change follows immediately on an earlier change. When change fatique arises, organizational change efforts can become unfocused, uninspired and unsuccessful, and individuals involved in change experience burn-out and become frustrated.

Abusive supervision is most commonly studied in the context of the workplace, although it can arise in other areas such as in the household and at school. "Abusive supervision has been investigated as an antecedent to negative subordinate workplace outcome." "Workplace violence has combination of situational and personal factors". The study that was conducted looked at the link between abusive supervision and different workplace events.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cady, S. H.; Jacobs, J.; Koller, R.; Spalding, J. (2014). "The Change Formula: Myth, Legend, or Lore?". OD Practitioner. 46 (3): 32–39.
  2. 1 2 Wheatley, M. J., Tannebaum, R., Yardley, P. Y., & Quade, K. (2003). Organization development at work: Conversations on the values, applications, and future of OD (pp. 62–64). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
  3. ↑ Beckhard, Richard (1975). "Strategies for large system change". Sloan Management Review. 16 (2): 43–55.
  4. ↑ Beckhard, Richard; Harris, Reuben T. (1977). Organizational transitions: Managing complex change . Addison-Wesley series on organization development (1st ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing. ISBN   9780201003352. OCLC   3379840.
  5. ↑ Beckhard, Richard; Harris, Reuben T. (1987). Organizational transitions: Managing complex change. Addison-Wesley series on organization development (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing. ISBN   9780201108873. OCLC   14271617.
  6. ↑ Dannemiller, Kathleen D.; Jacobs, Robert W. (1992). "Changing the Way Organizations Change: A Revolution of Common Sense". The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 28 (4): 480–498. doi:10.1177/0021886392284003. S2CID   143535258.
  7. 1 2 3 Čudanov, Mladen; Tornjanski, Vesna; Jaško, Ondrej (2019). "Change equation effectiveness: empirical evidence from South-East Europe". E+M: Ekonomie a Management. 22 (1): 99–115. doi: 10.15240/tul/001/2019-1-007 . hdl: 11025/33683 .
  8. ↑ See the following pages of the Handbook of Management Scales :
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.